


A Simple Misunderstanding

by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anti-Possession Tattoos, Embarrassed Dean, Human Castiel, Hunter Dean, Hunter Sam, M/M, Misunderstandings, Naive Castiel, Or Is he?, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:42:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5431844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a hunt, Cas nearly gets possessed by a demon.  After the close call Dean and Sam decide that getting Cas an anti-possession tattoo like theirs was what Cas needed, so three days later Dean takes Cas down to the same shop they'd gotten theirs in.</p><p>Cas is nervous.  He doesn't like pain and doesn't like the idea of how much this particular one will hurt.  Dean does his best to comfort the man, but when the tattoo artist asks them how long they've been together, Cas bluntly says eight years.  Dean is embarrassed.  This was not how he expected this afternoon to go...</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Simple Misunderstanding

**Author's Note:**

> So yes, I saw another prompt. So shoot me. No, don't shoot me. If you shoot me you don't get anymore lovely fics!
> 
> So go on and enjoy this one. ;)

“That was a close one. We can’t let that happen again.” Sam said. Dean looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor next to Cas who was still gasping for air. It had been close. That demon had come damn close to jumping into Cas when Dean attacked it. Way too close.

“What do you suggest, Sammy?” He asked.

“I think Cas needs the same tattoo we got. The sooner the better.” Sam replied. Cas reached out, grasping the front of Dean’s jacket as he gave one last cough.

“Sam is right. As a human now I am susceptible to such attacks. It would please Crowley immensely for one of his demons to take me over.” 

Dean helped Cas to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist when he doubled over coughing again. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’ll take you to the artist that did ours. I trust him.” Cas nodded and stood up. He felt weak but Dean was still holding up so he took advantage of the help, leaning into the hunter as they headed out to the car. Dean helped Cas into the backseat while Sam slipped into the passenger seat. He got behind the wheel and turned around in his seat to look at Cas.

“Let’s give you a day or so back at the bunker to recover and then we’ll go and get you that tattoo, ok?”

Cas nodded. “Ok, Dean. I trust you.”

Dean smiled and nodded. He wasn’t taking a chance like that again. No way was he losing Cas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days later Dean was driving Cas to the tattoo shop to get his first tattoo. Cas was nervous, which Dean had expected and he did his best to quell his concerns by answering whatever questions he had.

“I do not like pain, Dean. Is this going to hurt as bad as the one I got on my ribs?” He asked.

“I’m not going to lie, Cas. It’s going to hurt, but there are worse places on your body to get tattoos, and the pain doesn’t last. Plus you’ll really be a Winchester after this.” Dean grinned at him. 

“But how much is it going to hurt? In comparison.” Cas worried his lower lip as he watched Dean with wide, frightened eyes. 

“I think the one on your ribs probably hurt worse.” Dean admitted. When the worried expression on Cas’ face only deepened he reached over, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Come on, angel, it’ll be alright, and the benefits of having the tattoo, they’re lifesaving.” Dean told him.

“You won’t leave me?” Cas asked.

“I promise I’ll be right next to you through the whole thing.” Dean promised.

“Please, don’t leave.”

Dean pulled the car into the parking lot and found a spot near the back. Once the car was off he turned to face him.

“What has you so scared? You’re a bad ass former angel of the Lord. A tattoo should be nothing compared to the shit you’ve already been through.”

Cas’ brow furrowed and he frowned a little as he tried to find the right words to convey his concerns. 

“You don’t understand. As an angel, I felt no pain unless I wanted to feel it, and honestly, I had no desire to feel physical pain. Now that I am human? The pain for certain things can be…intense. I do not like it, and the idea of voluntarily enduring more of it is not an appealing thought. From what I have read about tattoos there are places on the human body where the pain is close to unbearable, such as the thighs, inner arm, and the penis, though why people would want to get tattooed there is beyond me. I don’t know how much this will hurt, and it’s the unknown that I most fear. I need…reassurance. I’m sorry if it seems childish, but I cannot help being worried that this pain will be more than I can bear. I almost couldn’t go through with the last one, the pain was terrible.” 

“I get it. I know you don’t like this but Cas, buddy, I can’t lose you. Not again. I need you to be safe in every way I can possibly manage. This tattoo? It’ll be further insurance, so demons can’t get inside you, and you know that. I need to protect you, Cas.” Dean could feel his cheeks burning as he told the man this, but Cas needed to understand. The worried expression on the man’s face eased some and he offered a tentative smile.

“Ok, Dean. Let’s just get this done and over with.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hey, you made it!” Stan, the tattoo artist that had done Sam and Dean’s tattoos greeted them as they walked in the door. He shook Dean’s hand.

“Hey, yourself. Good to see you again.” Dean grinned. He turned to Cas and motioned for him to come over and meet Stan. “This is Cas. Cas, this is Stan. You’re in good hands with him.”

Cas shook hands with the man, his eyes widening as he took in all of the tattoos on the man’s arms. “Hello, Stan. You certainly have a lot of tattoos.” He observed.

“Sure do. Each one tells a story.” Stan said.

“Ok, angel, take off your shirt.” Dean told him as they walked into Stan’s booth. Cas eyed the chair nervously before he slowly pulled off the shirt. Dean tried not to stare. It was next to impossible.

“Looks like one of your shirts.” Stan said with a laugh.

“You know what? It is. I got Cas hooked on my music, now he’s stealing my shirts.” Dean said with a chuckle. “Can I pull up a chair? Sit next to him? Getting tattoos, it’s not his favorite thing and he’s nervous.”

Stan pointed to a second stool in the corner. “Go for it, man. Get comfortable.”

Dean grabbed the stool and pulled it over, sitting down on it just as Cas laid back in the chair. He watched as Stan readied his gun and grabbed an alcohol wipe.

“Same spot you and your brother got it, right?”

Dean nodded. “Yep. Same tat, same location.” 

Stan wiped the area and Cas flinched as the cold cloth brushed across his skin. He settled on to his stool and turned the gun on.

“Ready?” He asked. Cas swallowed hard but managed a nod.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cas managed to handle the pain for all of about twenty minutes before he was clenching his fists so tight his arms were shaking. Dean reached out, placing a hand on his forearm.

“Cas? Hey, relax.” He stroked the man’s forearm gently until those blue eyes finally opened. When they fell on him he could see the misery in them.

“It hurts, Dean.” He said through gritted teeth.

“I know. Hang in there.” Dean offered a small smile but when Stan hit a nerve, Cas whimpered and grabbed Dean’s hand.

“Shh, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” Dean spoke softly, leaning in closer and squeezing Cas’ hand. 

“You guys meet after you came in here last time?” Stan asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Dean had to think for a moment. “It wasn’t too long after.”

Cas was starting to sweat and his hair was sticking to his forehead. He was still shaking from the pain until Dean started running his fingers gently through his dark locks.

“Shhh, angel, you’re doing so good right now. It’ll be done soon and then we’ll go grab something to eat, ok?”

Cas managed a nod but he had squeezed his eyes shut again in a vain attempt to block out the pain.

“How much further?” He asked.

“He only has the pentacle done. We have a little ways to go still.” Dean replied. Cas squeezed his hand again as another nerve was hit.

“How long have you two actually been together?” Stan asked. Dean looked up in shock at the question but Cas was quick to answer.

“Eight years.”

Dean felt his face flush beat red and he dropped his head to Cas’ hip in embarrassment. Cas opened his eyes and looked down at him.

“Are you alright, Dean?” He pulled his hand from Dean’s and reached out to do what Dean had been doing to sooth him, and he ran his fingers through the man’s hair. It felt good and Dean wanted to lean into it but he stopped himself. Either Stan didn’t notice Dean’s humiliation or was choosing to ignore it because he kept talking.

“Eight years, wow. I’ve been with my lady sixteen now. Been married for fourteen of those years. We have three kids. Oldest just turned twelve. You guys have kids?”

“No, we do not have children.” Cas replied. He winced and Dean lifted his head to look at him.

“Are you ok?” 

Cas nodded. “It’s sort of numb now, but sometimes he hits these places that hurt very much.”

“Nerves. I know what you mean.” Dean took his hand again except this time Cas slotted their fingers together, only squeezing gently as he endured more nerves getting hit by the needles.

“You guys planning on having kids?” Stan asked.

Cas was just not letting Dean answer these questions at all. Before Dean could so much as open his mouth, Cas was answering the man.

“In our line of work children would not be safe, though it might be nice someday to raise a child.”

Dean looked at the floor. Where was Crowley with his pit of hell? He needed the portal to open right then so he could just jump right in.

“Kids are great. I adore mine. You guys just partners or what?” 

“We are partners, yes.” Cas replied. Dean rolled his eyes. There was just no getting out of this one. Slowly he became aware that though Cas’ eyes were still closed, his thumb was slowly stroking over Dean’s knuckles, subconsciously trying to soothe him, even though he was the one in pain currently. That was just so _Cas_. Despite his embarrassment, the thought made Dean smile.

“How are you holding up there, angel?” He asked.

“It hurts. A lot. I would like it if you ran your fingers through my hair again, that was helping. I like when you touch me, Dean.” Cas opened his eyes and looked over at him. Dean was so far past embarrassment at that moment. Even if he wanted to, there wasn’t a way to convince Stan that Cas wasn’t his boyfriend. To his own surprise he realizes he didn’t really want to. Instead he smiled and reached a hand up to do as the man had asked. He slowly pushed his fingers through Cas’ hair, huffing out a small laugh when Cas actually sighed in contentment.

A short while later Stan finished. He wiped away the oozing blood and applied a generous amount of petroleum jelly to it before bandaging it. As he rattled off the aftercare steps, Cas continued to hold on to his hand. 

“He’ll keep it clean, I’ll make sure of it.” Dean said when Stan finished talking.

“Glad to hear that.”

Cas got up, wincing as he tried to lift his left arm to get his shirt on. Dean took it from him and carefully slid it over his head, tugging it down gently, blushing again as his fingers brushed over the bare skin of Cas’ stomach.

“Can we do burgers for lunch? I would like some pie for dessert. After this I think I deserve it.” Cas said.

“Anything you want, angel. I know a great place nearby with really good pie.” Dean replied, a sappy smile forming on his lips at the look of fondness Cas gave him.

“Can I go wait in the car while you pay?” Cas held out his hand and Dean dropped the keys into it.

“I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.” Dean told him. Cas smiled again and nodded before leaving.

“So, still one fifty?” Dean asked Stan as they walked over to the counter.

“Yep.” 

Dean counted out the cash and handed it over.

“Cas is a nice guy. Sensitive, but I’ve had people react a lot worse. It’s cool that you guys all got matching tattoos. Keeping it in the family, eh?” Stan asked, grinning as he wrote out the receipt.

“Something like that.” Dean replied.

“Well, he’s a lucky man to have you. You got him through that. Better go spoil him now.” Stan winked as he handed over the receipt. Dean knew he could correct the man, tell him Cas was just his best friend, but somehow he knew he’d be lying, both to Stan and to himself.

“I plan on it.” Dean winked before starting for the door.

“If you guys ever get married and want to commemorate it, I’m your man!” Stan called after him. Dean gave a small wave before walking outside. When he reached the Impala Cas was sitting in the passenger seat with his head leaning back and his eyes closed. He slid into the driver’s seat, smiling when those blue eyes opened and Cas turned his head to look at him.

“How are you feeling?” Dean asked.

“My skin burns and it’s tender, but otherwise I feel alright.” Cas replied. Dean started the car and they pulled out of the parking lot. 

“You know, I think you misunderstood Stan’s question earlier.” He said. Cas tilted his head, peering at him through narrowed eyes.

“How so? What question?”

“When he asked how long we’ve been together. You told him eight years.” Dean replied.

“But that is the truth.” Cas said.

“Well…yeah, but Cas, he thought we were together. As in a couple. He was asking how long we’ve been in a relationship.” Dean clarified. He glanced over at Cas to see that the man was watching him with one eyebrow raised.

“I know, Dean. I understood the question perfectly.”

Dean looked over to see a wicked little smirk on the man’s lips.

That sneaky son of a…

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story. Leave a comment and a kudos. And thank you for reading!


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